Suspect sought in attempted sex attack

November 21, 2009

Police appealed today for help from the public in identifying a man who grabbed a 16-year-old girl and tried to sexually attack her in an alley in the South Side's Back of the Yards neighborhood this week.

The girl was on her way to school about 8:30 a.m. on Monday when the man grabbed her from behind and took her into an alley in the 5100 block of South Loomis Street, according to a community alert released today.

But in the alley, the girl screamed and a person nearby came to help her, causing the attacker to flee, according to police.

The alert did not say what direction the man fled, and police News Affairs was unable to provide further information about the attack.

According to the alert, the attacker was described as a black man age 25 to 33, with a very dark complexion and black, short braided hair. He was between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed between 170 and 190 pounds. He was wearing a dark leather jacket over a hooded sweatshirt and dark blue jeans, police said.

Wentworth Area detectives were investigating the case of attempted criminal sexual abuse. Anyone with information regarding the attack should call detectives at 312-747-8380.